Saints, Railcats Don't Need Umpires In 4-3 Walk-Off Win For Saints

ST. PAUL, MNMay 12, 2013

ST. PAUL, MN (May 11, 2013) – The umpires were nowhere to be found on Saturday night and consequently there was no unruly behavior. The St. Paul Saints and Gary SouthShore Railcats called their own game with catchers calling balls and strikes, position players making calls on the base paths and any close plays being decided by a jury of Little Leaguers. In the end the Saints won in walk-off fashion 4-3 at Midway Stadium in front of 1,685.

With the game tied at three in the ninth, one out and Brandon Tripp at first Nick Hoffman singled to left moving Brandon to second. Jordan Tripp then hit a ground ball to second that forced Hoffman at second, but the throw to first for the double play pulled the first baseman off the bag. Brandon rounded third and came into score as the throw to the plate was wide.

The Railcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead scoring a run in the first on an RBI single from Steve Liddle and two in the second on an RBI triple from Chase Tucker and an RBI single by Adam Klein.

The Saints answered right back in the bottom of the second when Brandon Tripp hit a solo homer to right making it 3-1.

It stayed that way until the sixth when the Saints tied it up with two outs. With Jordan Tripp at second Dan Kaczrowski knocked him home with a single to make it 3-2. Joey Becker followed with an RBI triple. Kaczrowski and Becker both finished the night with three hits.

Cole Nelson got the start for the Saints and he pitched 4.0 innings allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits while walking three and striking out six. The bullpen of George Jensen and Connor Whalen didn’t allow a run over the final 5.0 innings.

In the end there were no arguments or disputes with the players making their own calls.

The Saints play their final exhibition game on Sunday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. against the Railcats at Midway Stadium.